It's a National Historic Landmark and Cleveland, Ohio's oldest operating indoor / outdoor market space.
Ah, the West Side Market! Just the mere mention of that market brings back fond memories of growing up in Cleveland, Ohio. And, more importantly, it brings back warm memories of my grandmother, Julia Nagy. You see, she was one of those dedicated workers who worked at the West Side Market for over 50 years. Spending time with my grandmother meant a trip on the Rapid Transit downtown to visit the West Side Market.
It's a fabulous bit of Cleveland history that is well worth a trip if you've never been there!
Heritage of West Side Market
The West Side Market is THE indoor/outdoor food market in Cleveland, Ohio which was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1973. It's a taste of European culture and well worth a visit if you make it to Cleveland! The current building was finished in 1912 and actually sits across the street from the site of Cleveland's first open-air market, founded in 1840.
The operators of the indvidual stalls are members of the West Side Market Tenant's Association, founded in 1915. Many of the current tenants are from families that have been part of the Association for 75 years or more. That's pretty cool, don't you think?
Snapshot of West Side Market
The West Side Market
1979 W. 25th Street at Lorain Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44114
216-664-3387
800-3-SHOP2000
Monday and Wednesday: 7am - 4pm
Friday and Saturday: 7am - 6pm
The West Side Market, at the edge of Ohio City in Cleveland, is a cultural and culinary gem. Opened in 1912, the market combines graceful Neo-Classical/Byzantine architecture with a vibrant produce and meat, poultry, and dairy market. Not only is the West Side Market an interesting and fun place to visit, it's a great place to find quality groceries at affordable prices.
- History and Architecture: The ninety-five year old West Side Market consists of an indoor market with its distinctive clock tower and an adjacent semi-enclosed "outdoor" market, filled with produce, grain, and fresh flower vendors.The West Side Market, orginally created as a neighborhood ethnic market still fullfills that function as well as a fascinating daytrip destination for surburbanites and those visiting the city.
- The Interior: Inside the market, make sure to note the original quarry tile flooring as well as the decorative corbels, depicting animals and vegetables, on the market's columns. Also distinctive is the 44-foot high vaulted ceiling with its rich terracotta tile, placed in a herringbone design.
- Outdoor Market: The outdoor market features dozens of vendors offering fresh seasonal produce, such as tomatoes, peppers, corn in season, oranges, and lemons. You can also usually find large sacks of onions and potatoes as well as fresh flowers. Prices for produce tend to be much lower than in the grocery stores and the items are usually much fresher.
- Indoor Market: The indoor market features meat and poultry vendors as well as those selling cheeses, dairy products, and bakery items. It is here that the ethnic character of the market really shines. Items for sale here include Amish chickens, fresh Hungarian sausage, freshly cut steaks and pork chops, strudels, and hard and soft cheeses. Ohio City Pasta sells their homemade pasta here and there's an adjacent fish market with all varieties of fresh fish and seafood. Prices here are generally attractive.
- Restaurants and Prepared Food Stands: If all this food shopping is making you hungry, there are stands offering prepared foods throughout the market. Particularly good is the bratwurst stand in the northwest corner. You'll also find hot dogs, hot pretzels, pierogi, and more. If you prefer to sit down, there's a short order restaurant with delicious sandwiches and breakfasts on the W 25th St side of the market.
- Around the Neighborhood: The area surrounding the West Side Market is filled with other interesting ethnic food markets. Adjacent to the market is an Arabic food store, filled with grains, spices, and delicious pastries. Around the corner, on Lorain Ave. is the Athens Market, a Greek grocery with several varieties of Feta cheese, homemade baklava, vats of olives, and aisles and aisles of Greek specialty foods, dry goods, and wine.
- More Foods Stores and Restaurants around the West Side Market: In the next block on Lorain is the Honsa Market, a German emporium, filled with jams, jellies, pickles, and all kinds of tasty German food specialties.
West Side Market at a glance
The West Side Market is Cleveland, Ohio's oldest operating indoor/outdoor market space. It is located at the corner of West 25th Street and Lorain Avenue in the Ohio City district. On December 18, 1973, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
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My grandmother and me a while back
The West Side Market and my grandmother
Some very fond memories ...
My fond memories of my grandmother include the West Side Market as I visited there quite a few times as a young child. Me and my two sisters and brother would each have our opportunity to stay with our grandparents during the summer months and ride the Rapid Transit downtown.
Sometimes we'd go shopping at Higbee's before stopping for lunch at Mill's Restaurant, another place my grandmother also worked as a cook.
I remember the wonderful butter, bread, cheeses, meats, and desserts that she would bring home from the West Side Market. She introduced us to sweet butter and some interesting luncheon meat such as blood tongue--I've not had it since. When I had that meat in my sandwich, no one at school cared to trade with me.
Oh, that picture of me with my grandmother is in her Cleveland, Ohio home that was located at 16605 Chatfield Avenue. For her to get to her job at the West Side Market, she walked a short distance to Rocky River Drive which was a couple of blocks from Kamm's Corner and Lorain Avenue. She took a bus to the Rapid Transit station which took her downtown near the West Side Market. That was also another fond memory--riding the Rapid Transit!
P.S. My grandmother was a fantastic cook ... her stuffed cabbage was TDF!!!
The Sheriff Street Market in Cleveland
Sheriff Street Market: Cleveland, 1905
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West Side Market cool pics
A group has been started at Flickr for sharing photos of the West Side Market--both past and present. Currently, there are over 220 pictures.
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Beef Tongues
Popcorn
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Peppers
Produce
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Cleveland Downtown Architecture
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West Side Market cool videos
Cleveland Downtown Postcards
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- 30 Days 30 Ways to Save: West Side Market vs. The grocery store
- We sent a Channel 3 intern to the West Side Market and a local supermarket to check out the price di...
- East End Farmers Market Sold, With a Zabar Picked to Run It
- Mr. Zabar, the youngest of the three Zabar brothers, is not connected to the Upper West Side market...
- New in Paperback Book Takes Us to Market
- by Vikas Turakhia Whether you buy your produce at the West Side Market, Heinen's or Marc's,...
- Jalapenos Still In Supply, Demand In SA
- Ernest Lopez of Chico Boys continues to sell jalapenos at a west side market, but after the salmonel...
Cleveland Downtown Postcards
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Cleveland Then and Now (Then & Now)
Amazon Price: $15.66 (as of 07/25/2008)
Cleveland: A Concise History, 1796-1996 (The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History)
Amazon Price: $14.36 (as of 07/25/2008)
Cleveland: 1930-2000 (OH) (Images of America)
Amazon Price: $15.59 (as of 07/25/2008)
Cleveland Food Memories: A Nostalgic Look Back at Food We Loved, the Places We Boughtit, and the People Who Made It Special
Amazon Price: $17.95 (as of 07/25/2008)
Cleveland Ethnic Eats: The Guide to Authentic Ethnic Restaurants And Markets in Greater Cleveland (Cleveland Ethnic Eats)
Amazon Price: $11.86 (as of 07/25/2008)
West Side Market People
- Many tourists are also drawn to the Market due to television exposure it has received in recent years through profiles on various programs produced by the Travel Channel and Food Network.
- Most residents of the neighborhood, and many Clevelanders in general, still do a large portion of their shopping at the Market today, despite a supermarket boom in the area.
- Through the market's history, the tenants and sellers have come from a broad base of backgrounds, representing the cultural diversity of the surrounding neighborhood and Cleveland as a whole. When my grandmother worked there, you could find many Hungarians and Slovaks.
- The current roster of tenants includes those of Irish, German, Slovenian, Italian, Greek, Polish, Russian, and Middle Eastern descents, among others.
- In addition, many stalls at the Market have remained under individual family control for much of the life of the Market, in a few cases dating back to the original opening in 1912.
- P.S. I remember the Hildebrand's having a stand that my grandmother frequented as their stand was near where she worked. She was friends with them as I remember their name. Recently, I met a Bill Hildebrand who lives and works in the Indianapolis area. He mentioned having a large family from the Cleveland area--quite likely one of them that had a stand at the West Side Market.
West Side Market People Buzz ...
- West Side Market
- sjoberg_sara posted a photo:. West Side Market. Cleveland, Ohio -- Saturday, July 13, 2008.
- The Local Farmers Market (Finally)
- I'm lucky enough to live near the West Side Market. As good as it is though, the produce mostly is...
- West Side Market Button Tabling
- The "Obama Walk 4 Change," hosted by Diversity 4 Obama, is on Saturday, September 13th. We are raisi...
- West Side Market Saturday
- I went to the West Side Market this morning to do some shopping. It is an incredible day and the wea...
My Cleveland Genealogy Lenses
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Nagy, the Hungarian Name
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My research has shown that the Hungarian name of "Nagy" is much like the American name of Smith. In other words, the Nagy name was used a lot in Hungary and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, probably because it translated to "big...
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Kovacs aka Kovach -- Czechoslovakian or Hungarian?
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Recently, I commenced an online research of my great grandparents with the Kovach name. I am relying on information from my maternal grandmother, who is now deceased, and from my mother. As a child, I remember my grandmothe...
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Vereczki
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I've written another lens on Nagy, the Hungarian Name, which discusses the commonality of the Nagy name. On the other hand, the Vereczki name is quite the opposite; i.e., its useage is rather rare and indeed difficult to put my finger on any we...
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